JUBILEE ORGAN RECITAL SERIES Sunday January 26Th – Thursday May 29Th 2014
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Please silence cellphones. No unauthorized photography, audio or video recording. Following the recent renovation of the Æolian-Skinner organ by R.A. Colby, Inc. Trinity Cathedral presents its JUBILEE ORGAN RECITAL SERIES Sunday January 26th – Thursday May 29th 2014 January 26th: MATTHEW STEYNOR (Trinity Cathedral, Miami, FL) February 27th: SIMON JOHNSON (St Paul’s Cathedral, London, UK) March 27th: JONATHAN DIMMOCK (San Francisco, CA) April 24th: JEREMY FILSELL (Washington National Cathedral) May 29th (service): RICHARD SPOTTS (Doylestown, PA) THE ORGAN AT TRINITY CATHEDRAL Æolian-Skinner Op. 471 The organ was installed at the time of Trinity’s construction in the mid-1920s, built by Ernest M. Skinner and Company with an initial specification of four manuals (keyboards), forty-three stops, thirty-six ranks and 2,497 pipes, including an Echo chamber in the rear gallery containing four ranks of pipes (removed in 2001 to undergo repairs, and returned in 2014). When the Diocese of South Florida split in 1969 and Trinity became the cathedral of the new Diocese of Southeast Florida, Dean McCormick spearheaded a drive to improve the organ. A donation from The Richards Foundation was received covering the cost of both a new console and the installation of a Trompette-en-Chamade. The contract went to Æolian-Skinner, but the timing was such that the company was unable to fulfill the obligation. Following Æolian-Skinner’s bankruptcy in 1972, the contract was transferred to Kinsey-Angerstein (Allen Kinsey had been Æolian-Skinner’s Head Engineer) and the sixty-one pipes of the Chamade were heard for the first time in May 1974. In addition to the Chamade rank, over one thousand other pipes have been added to the organ since the 1920s, made clear in the specification on pages 8-9 of this program. In 2002 many digital stops, enhancing both the organ’s power and versatility, were added to the organ. This was Phase One of a two part phase to overhaul the organ. The Second Phase of the renovations, completed over the last two and a half years, has involved the upkeep of the pipework already in existence, since much of the leatherwork needed replacing in order to ensure the organ's ability to function reliably for decades to come. In September, 2011, as part of Trinity's restoration and re-certification project, the organ's pipes, windchests, and mechanical components were moved to the factory of R.A.Colby. The pipes were removed both to protect the instrument while construction takes place in the sanctuary and chancel areas, and also for the Second Phase of the renovations to take place. During this renovation, the organ console remained in place with the complete specification playable as a digital instrument. The manual keyboards and pedalboard were replaced in October 2013, and all of the chests and pipes were reinstalled by the end of November 2013. For the final three weeks of the reinstallation in January 2014, the voicing and tuning of the pipes took place under the supervision of Roger Colby, president of the Colby company. Charles Callahan was present the second week and Bob Walker for some of the third. The Æolian-Skinner Organ Company In the 1920s Ernest M. Skinner and company had developed a national reputation for building large organs for some of the most prestigious churches, concert halls, colleges, and auditoriums in the country. These include The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (op. 150, 1906); Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsburgh (op. 180, 1910) and St Thomas Episcopal Church, Fifth Avenue, New York City (op. 205, 1913). In 1932 the Skinner company merged with the Æolian Company, resulting in the name Æolian-Skinner. Skinner’s reputation continued with the new name well into the sixties with instruments built or rebuilt at locations including Grace Cathedral in San Francisco (1933), the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City (1948) and St Philip’s Cathedral in Atlanta (1962). The company however ceased operations in 1972. In the Tri-County area there are only three Æolian-Skinner organs remaining; the other two (according to the Organ Historical Society) are in West Palm Beach and have two manuals. Trinity Cathedral’s organ is certainly a unique South Florida treasure. R.A. Colby Organ Builders Based in Johnson City, Tennessee, R.A. Colby has enjoyed a rich and diverse history. Begun in 1974 as an adjunct to a major Pipe Organ Builder, the firm began under the name of Kimber-Allen, Inc. as a supplier of specialized electrical components to the trade. Relocation to Tennessee in 1979 saw the growth of the supply endeavors and expansion of the product line to include component construction for the organ building trade. By 1984, the main focus of the company had become the design and construction of custom components for the pipe organ industry. As a result, the company transitioned to the present name of R.A. Colby, Inc. As the offerings of the company grew, a dedicated floor space was constructed in 2001 to house a new, state of the art, large format computer controlled router along with our existing smaller format CNC router, computer controlled lathe, and computer controlled laser. Currently the R.A. Colby team numbers nineteen including President, Vice-President and Secretary. Not counting regular tuning jobs, The Colby company completed around a dozen projects in 2013, including some new pipes at First Presbyterian Church in Pompano Beach, a phase of the organ project at the US Naval Academy and the touring organ for legendary virtuoso organist Cameron Carpenter. Projects for this year include The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine (America's First Parish), Christ Church Methodist Church in Fort Lauderdale and the largest console ever built for the seven manual instrument at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. RECITAL 1: Sunday January 26th at 4:00pm Matthew Steynor Trinity Cathedral, Miami Sonata Eroïca, Op. 94 Joseph Jongen (1873 – 1953) Adagio for Strings Samuel Barber (1910 – 1981) arr. William Strickland (1914 – 1991) L’adorazione dei Magi Ottorino Respighi (1879 – 1936) (Trittico Botticelliano) arr. Matthew Steynor (b. 1979) Canonic Variations on Johann Sebastian Bach “Vom Himmel Hoch”, BWV 769a (1685 – 1750) 1. Canon at the octave 2. Canon at the fifth 3. Canon at the seventh 4. Canon in augmentation 5. Cantus firmus in canons Wedding Graham Fitkin (b. 1963) Orison Frederick J. Kent (b. 1928) Sonata Op. 28 Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934) I – Allegro maestoso II – Allegretto III – Andante espressivo IV – Presto (comodo) You are invited to a reception in Cathedral Hall after the recital sponsored by the Miami Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Matthew Steynor, a native of Britain, has been Director of Music at Trinity Cathedral since Fall 2007. As Director of Music he directs and accompanies the Cathedral Choir, as well the Anglican Chorale of Southeast Florida, which he co-founded to introduce the service of Evensong to Trinity Cathedral on a regular basis. He has played all the major instruments in the area in solo recitals, liturgies, conventions and workshops for organizations such as the Church Music Association of America and the American Guild of Organists. Prior to coming to Trinity Cathedral Mr Steynor worked at Great St Mary's in Cambridge, UK, St Thomas Episcopal Parish in Coral Gables, FL and Christ Church Cathedral in Nassau, Bahamas. He was recently honored with the "Spirit of Absalom Jones Award" from the Miami Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians. He is a graduate of Cambridge University (U.K.), where he earned a Master of Arts degree and a Postgraduate Certificate of Education. He was an organ scholar at Queens’ College, where he was jointly responsible for the music in the college chapel for three years. Four recordings were made during this tenure, which received outstanding reviews in highly respected music journals and are still available on iTunes. In addition to his duties at Trinity Cathedral, Mr Steynor worked reguarly with the Master Chorale of South Florida and Florida’s Singing Sons Boychoir for six seasons. He has been heard on the nationally syndicated Minnesota Public Radio show Pipedreams, and in 2008 was one of fifty choirmasters selected to participate in BBC Music Magazine’s worldwide “Fifty Greatest Carols” survey. RECITAL 2: Thursday February 27th at 7:30pm Simon Johnson St Paul’s Cathedral, London Marche Héroïque A. Herbert Brewer (1865-1928) from Sonata in A minor William Harris (1883-1973) Adagio espressivo Allegro, Chorale and Fugue in D Felix Mendelssohn (1809-47) Herzlich tut mich verlangen (Op. post.122, No 10) Johannes Brahms (1833-97) Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 547 Johann S. Bach (1685-1750) A fancie from My Ladye Nevell’s Book William Byrd (c.1542-1623) Symphony No 6 in G minor (Op. 42) Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937) I – Allegro II – Adagio III – Intermezzo IV – Cantabile V – Finale Simon Johnson is the Organist and Assistant Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral, where he presides over the five-manual Willis/Mander organ, one of the finest musical instruments in the world. He held organ scholarships at Rochester, Norwich and St Paul’s Cathedrals, before becoming Director of Music at All Saints’ Church, Northampton and then Assistant Master of Music and Director of the Abbey Girls’ Choir at St Albans Cathedral. He took up his present position in 2008. In addition to the daily round of services at St Paul’s, Simon also plays for all the important national services and events that take place there, most recently at the funeral service of Baroness Thatcher. Last year he played for the national service of thanksgiving to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen, for which he also arranged some of the music.